Book reviews;Additions to the Library, December, 1919;

Page 1

6 HASKINS & SELLS January
Book Reviews
Gerstenberg, Charles William. Mate­rials
of Corporation Finance. Third re­vised
edition. (New York, Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1915. 1034 p.)
The opening sentence of the preface to
this book sounds the key-note. The state­ment
is therein made that "This source
book has been compiled to facilitate the
study of corporation finance in classes
where the use of the original documents is
impossible or impracticable."
It is not a difficult matter to obtain speci­men
stocks, bonds, and bonds and mort­gages.
It is comparatively easy to obtain,
in pamphlet form, specimen corporate
mortgages and other instruments related
to corporation finance. The time and ef­fort,
however, involved in such procedure
operate to discourage the resourceful
teacher who hits upon such idea as an ad­junct
to his teaching equipment.
The actual documents may be more
Striking, but it is certainly very useful to
have the text of a large number of repre­sentative
instruments reproduced as they
have been in the book in question. There
are comparatively few of the author's own
words in the text. There are very few pic­torial
illustrations.
There are too many items in the table
of contents to warrant giving them here.
The assortment, however, is a rich and
varied one, embracing such documents as
the amended certificate of incorporation of
the United States Steel Corporation; vot­ing
trust agreement, International Har­vester
Company; corporate mortgage,
Jones & Laughlin Steel Company; agree­ment
preliminary to the formation of the
American Cigar Company; etc.
Not the least important part of the book
is the introduction, which treats the bib­liography
of the subject in an extremely
interesting manner. For example: "The
subject of corporate financial advancement
can best be studied in connection with an­nual
reports. A comparison of the experi­ments
of good and bad reports may be had
by studying on the one hand, the Westing-house,
(page 627), and New Haven,
(page 663); and on the other, report
of the American Glue Company (page
7 8 2 ) . "